


A Skateboard Stumble

by PineTrain



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: F/M, pinecest - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-04
Updated: 2017-04-04
Packaged: 2018-10-14 17:34:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,773
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10541241
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PineTrain/pseuds/PineTrain





	

“Aaaaalllllriiight…I’m balanced!”

“Great Job, Dipper! It’s so interesting to see you stand on a slowly moving skateboard!” Mabel exclaimed.

Okay, She had a point, he hadn’t done much besides draw attention to how little he was doing on his birthday present. But then again-

“Safety first, sis! I want to be totally prepared to show you my skillz!” he announced.

Mabel just rolled her eyes, obviously unimpressed by both his bravado and his pathetic attempt at ‘cool’. Still, she said, “You go, bro!”

Dipper frowned, he could tell she was just humoring him. But it just made him more determined. He’d show her his skillz! People do say that, right?

Whatever, he thought. He’d practiced this move plenty and had it down pat. He rolled the skateboard down the street a bit before turning a hard 180. He needed room to pick up speed and even just spinning the board so quick would show Mabel he knew what he was doing. She’d pay attention for the actual trick after that.

Dipper’s shoulders fell when he looked over and saw her typing on her phone instead, a bored look gracing her face. Then they rose in defiance. He’d show her something that’d catch her attention! Adjusting his helmet and elbow pads, he shouted, “Here I go!” and pushed off with his foot.

Picking up speed, Dipper aimed to perform the move directly in front of Mabel for maximum effect. He’d done the math a hundred times in his head and succeeded another hundred times during practice. It was a sure thing.

He leaped into the kickflip. It wasn’t the most impressive of moves, but he’d only started a few days before so it was pretty impressive to learn it that quick he figured. He briefly glanced at Mabel in the middle of the move and saw her still looking at her phone. His legs caught awkwardly along the skateboard and when he landed he immediately crumpled and rolled along the pavement.

Dipper slid to a stop and laid on his back as pain caught up to him. He’d have to remember this as one of those times where insisting on safety paid out because he could still feel all his limbs. Looking quickly, he only saw a bleeding scrape that tore through the forearm on his shirt. He hurt in other places, but they’d probably only be bruises. He’d have to check that he was right later though because a groan of pain drowned out his other thoughts.

“Dipper!” Mabel was running over to him. “Are you okay!?” she said, concern dripping from her voice.

“Y-yeah,” Dipper said. What a stupid question, Dipper thought, immediately chastising himself: What else was she supposed to say, ‘Are you dead?’

He grunted as he raised himself on his less-injured arm, “I’m, ugh, I’m good…”

Mabel clearly wasn’t convinced. She knelt near him and asked, “Let’s get you inside. Where does it hurt? I can help you walk or carry you if you need it?” She was speaking quickly and Dipper felt guilty that he was making her worry so much.

“I, uh, it’s not that bad beside the scrape. Just a little sore, uh, everywhere…”

Mabel smiled and held out a hand to him. He took it and she pulled him up before letting go and slipping under his arm to support his shoulder as they walked inside. She clutched the hand he had over her shoulder with one of hers and used the other to support his waist He could’ve walked on his own, but he appreciated the gesture because it did make his knees hurt less to take a little weight off. The warm feeling of her body against his also reminded him of why he’d done all this in the first place.

They walked into the house and up the stairs to their shared bathroom. Along the way, Dipper’s adrenaline fell and he realized he was leaning a bit too much onto Mabel and she was grunting in effort to carry him. Oh crap, his mind had been a bit on autopilot and he wasn’t holding back like he should. He pulled away very slightly, ignoring the pain the additional weight added to his knee.

They reached the bathroom and Mabel set him down on the toilet. She breathed a bit, “Damn Dipper, it felt like I was carrying you halfway here. Your legs that bad?”

Dipper blushed a bit, “Uh no, just, uh…nevermind that. Thanks for bringing me up, I can handle the rest.”

“Nah, Dip, you were just trying to impress me when you got hurt so I should at least help you wash off.” Mabel turned the sink on hot and held her hand under the water as it warmed up. She looked at him and said, “Take off your shirt.”

“Wh-what? Can’t I just roll the sleeve up?” Dipper protested.

“That was a pretty rough tumble, I want to make sure there aren’t any other scrapes under your clothes. You should check your legs too but,” Mabel coughed, “I think I’ll let you handle that later.”

Dipper acquiesced and removed his safety gear before taking off the shirt. “Ha, see,” Mabel touched a spot on his back lightly and he winced, “there’s one right here. But let’s take care of your arm first. Sit down while I get the towel wet.”

Sitting on the toilet, Dipper thought the situation wasn’t a total disaster. Sure he had looked like a complete fool, but it was nice having Mabel dote on him. And when she came over and knelt by him, holding his hand while she wiped blood and dirt off his arm, that was very nice, if a bit painful. When she finished and stood up, she kissed his temple and that was very, very nice. It seemed an odd gesture but he realized it was a preemptive apology when she held up a brown bottle: Hydrogen peroxide.

She wet some gauze with it and disinfected the cuts and scrapes on his body. Dipper tried not to but the sting made him flinch despite his effort. Mabel then placed band-aids on all his injuries. When she finished his back, she paused, then hugged him from behind gently, trying to avoid pressing too hard against him.

“Sorry,” she mumbled, “I should’ve payed more attention. I know you did it a hundred times before trying to show me so it was my fault you messed up.”

Dipper pulled her hands off of him so he could slide off the toilet and kneel next to her. He let her restart the hug and returned it in kind. “Well, yeah, you did mess me up.”

Mabel flicked a bruise with indignation, “I’m apologizing, you’re not supposed to make me feel worse about it butthead…”

Dipper smiled through the minor pain, “BUT, you took care of me afterwards and that’s the kind of thing that makes me love you.”

Wait, oh shit, did he say that out loud? Wasn’t there something else he meant to say? He couldn’t remember. No, no, he could handle this. Play it off as sibling love, yeah, that wouldn’t be hard. He just needed to see how she reacted and he could come up with something.

Dipper was trying to craft a perfect response to every option when Mabel threw him off-guard, “Yeah, and it’s things like always trying to impress me that make me love you.”

Uh, what? That sounded almost exactly like his virtual confession just did, but hadn’t her being bored been the entire reason they were here now? But maybe she was just trying to fake disinterest like he often did so he wouldn’t make things weird with his weird thoughts. Maybe she felt the same way he did and had always been scared to do anything for the same reasons he had. N-no, that’s wishful thinking. She surely meant a platonic love. Had to.

But Dipper couldn’t speak with all those thoughts racing through his mind so all he could do was pull back out of the hug, his cheek dragging along Mabel’s. It felt hot, or was that his own? He definitely felt hot all over his face so he might be mistaking it. Yet he could tell Mabel was pressing her own cheek to his and the corner of their lips touched just before he could see her eyes.

He was overthinking this right? That was all a coincidence, right? The look he saw wasn’t a mirror of his own feelings, right? She wasn’t slowly closing her eyes while they drifted closer, right?

*SLAM* They both seized up in panic at the loud noise from downstairs.

“Kids! Come help with the groceries!” their dad yelled.

They let go of each other and looked away, Dipper catching a glimpse that Mabel was the same brilliant red he knew he was. Why did their dad always have to kick the door open? He had to actually reach down and turn the handle before he could even do it without breaking the frame so it was blatantly intentional. And he had interrupted them right before they had almost…

Dipper held his forehead in disbelief. Did that really almost happen? All this time he convinced himself he was overthinking Mabel’s actions but maybe they had been exactly what he hoped they had been.

“Dipper,” Mabel said quietly. He looked over and she gave him a peck on the lips. “Let’s talk later,” Mabel said looking aside bashfully. Well, there was his answer.

Mabel stood up and went to the sink, splashing water on her face. It alleviated some of the red and she turned to exit the bathroom. Dipper caught her hand on the backswing. Mabel turned with a questioning look. He just smiled and squeezed her hand. She smiled back and returned the gesture before they both let go and she went downstairs.

Dipper leaned against the sink and breathed deeply. He was as happy as he’d ever been. He had a feeling he knew exactly how their conversation would go but he still kinda wanted to make plans so it’d go the best it could. But that would come later, the happiness coursing through him drowned out even the pain of his fall.

He heard Mabel’s voice echo from downstairs, “Hey mom! Red-faced? Oh Dipper just got hurt and I was worried, that’s all! No, he’s fine, just give him a few minutes to settle down and he can come help too!”

Settle down? That was a weird thing to say. Like, yeah, it could make sense but…

Dipper glanced downwards, “Oh, come on!”


End file.
